Open Your Eyes
by AutumnLeavesCoffeeDreams
Summary: When Lucy is brutally tortured at the hands of Minerva during the Grand Magic Games, feelings Gray had been suppressing for a while come bubbling up to the surface. Will this be the push Gray needs to finally show Lucy his true feelings? Will Lucy reciprocate? AKA. A shameless GrayLu one-shot.


**A/N: Hope you liked it! I'm planning on a few more Graylu stories in the future. Two are already in the works... one is a Graylu/Jerza fic and the other is a special Christmas fic :)**

* * *

"LUCY!" cried Gray and Natsu as they leapt over the barrier and raced toward Lucy's falling body. The two mustered every ounce of energy they had, swiftly catching her in their arms a moment before she hit the ground. Although Minerva was still high above them, they knew she was looking down them with a smug expression.

Gray didn't bother to acknowledge the Sabertooth mage; he couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off his best friend. Lucy lay in Gray's arms, unconscious and moaning in pain. The sight of seeing the bubbly, outgoing Celestial Mage so broken and battered struck a nerve. Almost instantly, Gray could feel his aloof disposition slowly crack.

"Come on, Lucy! Please, say something!" Gray begged.

Lucy said nothing.

From somewhere above him, Gray could hear Natsu shouting angrily at Minerva. Gray set Lucy gently on the ground as to not aggravate her injuries further. Erza rushed over to the three of them just in time to see Minerva, who had slid down to the ground. Gray clenched his fists and forced himself to turn his gaze over to Lucy; there were a lot of things he wanted to say - and do - to Minerva for her cruelty, but getting Lucy taken care of was priority.

"Lucy..." urged Gray, lowering his voice so only she could hear. " _Please_ , open your eyes. Come back to us."

No response.

"Come back to me..."

A soft groan escaped Lucy's lips. Gray perked up for a moment, hoping she would wake up. Much to his dismay, however, Lucy remained unconscious.

Wendy and Chelia arrived on the scene and immediately began combining their magic to heal Lucy's more severe injuries. Seeing that she was in good hands, Gray forced himself to join Natsu and Erza as they argued with Minerva.

 _Please let her be all right_ , Gray pleaded silently.

* * *

Half of the Fairy Tail guild crowded around Lucy's bed as she lie in the recovery ward. Her small frame was covered in bandages and bruises; it physically hurt Gray to see her like this. He wanted to do _something_ to help her, but Porlyusica told him that it was simply going to take time for Lucy to heal. Still, that didn't stop the Ice Make mage from feeling so utterly powerless.

"She's awake!" exclaimed Happy. Gray snapped out of his trance and turned to look at Lucy, who was gazing at her comrades through weary eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Lucy murmured, the defeat in her voice a stark contrast to her usual confident tone. "I screwed up again... I let you all down..."

Gray was shocked that after the cruelty she had endured, _she_ was apologizing to _them_.

 _How could she think we'd be disappointed in her?_

"Are you kidding? You got second place!" Gray said in an attempt to lift her spirits. "That's nothing to be sorry about."

"Thanks to you, we got eight points that round!" "Yes, you did well."

After Lucy fell back asleep, Cana growled, "We won't be letting them get away with this."

Images of Minerva holding Lucy up by the neck, displaying her like some kind of trophy in a humiliating fashion, flashed through Gray's mind. He muttered darkly, "I feel the exact same way."

* * *

After Makarov had informed the guild of the two teams merging, they were all shooed away by Porlyusica. Apparently having too many people around her - especially a bunch as lively as Fairy Tail - would hinder Lucy's recovery.

That evening, however, Gray slipped out of his room and paid Lucy a late-night visit. Much to his surprise, Lucy was wide awake and sitting upright in her bed when he entered the room. A small candle on the nightstand next to Lucy's bed was the only source of light in the room. The candlelight illuminated half of her face and Gray was relieved to see that she was looking much better.

"Gray?" Lucy asked, rubbing her eyes as if to make sure he was really there. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Gray replied with a smile. He lowered himself down into the seat next to Lucy's bed. "How are you feeling?"

Lucy gave him a small smile in return and said, "Better, thank you. But if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting rest?"

Gray laughed. "Shouldn't _you_?"

"Well... you have a point..." Lucy let out a little chuckle but it was cut short by a moan. She hunched over and clutched her ribs.

"Dammit, Lucy," Gray scolded softly, "you really need to be getting more rest. You're obviously still in pain!"

"I'm fine, Gray," Lucy tried - but failed - to reassure him.

Gray shook his head at her stubbornness. "Here, I'll go get Porlyuscia. Maybe she can give you-"

Just as he went to stand, a small hand grabbed Gray's wrist and held him back. Lucy had no strength left in her body so Gray could have broken free of her grasp easily.

However, a small part of him found he didn't want to.

"No, please... stay." Lucy pleaded quietly. "I feel a lot better now that you're here."

Gray sighed in defeat, though he would be lying if he said that her words hadn't made his heart skip a beat. "Fine. But you have to lay down and get some rest. That's my condition."

Lucy nodded and Gray placed one arm around her shoulders, guiding her body gently back onto the bed until she was completely lying down. As Lucy snuggled under her blankets, a golden strand of hair fell in Lucy's eyes. Before Lucy could lift her hand to fix it, cool fingers brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. She looked up at Gray, who had an unreadable expression on his face. He leaned over the nightstand and blew out the candle. Now the only light entering the room was the silver beams of the moon peeking in from the window.

Shifting her position, Lucy accidentally irritated her bruised ribs. A pained groan escaped her lips and Gray flinched.

"Uh... Lucy?"

"Yes?"

Gray scratched the back of his head nervously. "Do you... want me to cool you off? Uh, I mean do you want me to ice your ribs? It might help ease the pain."

"You would do that? Are you sure?"

Gray nodded, happy to finally be of use. "Of course. I promise I won't hurt you though, if you're worried about that."

Lucy shook her head slightly. She shifted the blankets down so her entire upper body was exposed. "I trust you, Gray."

The room suddenly felt very hot as Gray slipped his hand underneath her shirt and laid it gently on her ribs. As he allowed his hand to grow colder, Lucy gasped from the change in temperature, but relaxed after a few moments.

"Thank you."

"It's not a big deal."

There were a few moments of silence.

"So... nobody's upset that I lost to Minerva?"

Gray sighed softly, his eyes fixated on the floor now. "I think everyone was more worried about you getting hurt. Watching Minerva attacking you over and over like that... it was... we..."

"I heard your voice."

Gray's head snapped up and he met Lucy's gaze. "What?"

Lucy blushed and began to fidget with her fingers. "While I was unconscious... I thought - no, I _know_ I heard your voice. You were calling my name."

"Oh yeah, that was me..." Gray said sheepishly. "You scared me there, Luce."

Lucy's hand came to rest on top of Gray's free one. Tears were threatening to spill over and Gray's chest constricted in response; he hadn't meant to upset her!

"I was scared, too..." Lucy responded quietly. "I didn't know what was going on. All I could feel was pain... but then I heard your voice. It may sound strange, but knowing you were there helped, like I knew everything would be okay. I'm grateful for that, Gray."

A stray tear slid down Lucy's cheek and Gray decided he couldn't hold back any longer. In one swift motion, Gray leaned over and softly kissed the tear away. Lucy blinked in response but made no move to push him away. They stared at each other for a moment before Lucy sat up and wrapped her arms around Gray, who immediately returned her embrace.

"I'm glad you're okay," Gray murmured, kissing the top of Lucy's head. Lucy burrowed deeper into Gray's shoulder and replied just as softly, "I'm glad you're here with me."

Gray sighed again and pulled back. "As much as I'd love to stay like this, you really need to get some rest."

Lucy stuck out his bottom lip in a mock pout, causing Gray to let out a chuckle. Once again, Gray helped lower Lucy back onto the bed, but this time he held on to her hand. "I'll be here until you fall asleep, okay?"

"Thanks, Gray," Lucy said, giving him a genuine smile this time. "But before I fall asleep, can we talk about... _us_ tomorrow? I have a hunch we both think of each other as more than friends."

"I think your hunch might be correct." Gray kissed Lucy's hand before giving it a light squeeze. "Tomorrow then. I look forward to it."

* * *

Lucy had been long asleep before Gray rose to his feet and began making his way toward the door. Just as his hand touched the doorknob...

"Gray, you're a real man now."

" _ELFMAN_!"


End file.
